Archive By Section - Editorials

Unless they're nature lovers, when you say the word "habitat" to people in Kershaw County, most folks tend to know you're probably talking about Habitat for Humanity of Kershaw County, the organization which for so many years has helped less fortunate residents move into homes of their own.

• Website statistics don't usually generate a lot of interest these days if for no other reason than the internet is such a common part of our daily lives. But when the Kershaw County School District (KCSD) reported it generated more than 600,000 hits in one school year on its main site -- and well more than a million through all its individual school sites -- we took notice. The statistics, along with those for the district's other Web-based resources, just go to prove how things have changed when it comes to parent-teacher/school interaction. Parents are more likely today ...

Those who braved the hot summer afternoon and evening -- and a brief rain shower early on -- found their musical rewards at the 20th annual edition of Jammin in July at Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site on Saturday.

• Congratulations to Sammy Small Jr. on being named president of First Palmetto Bank. The bank, and the Small family, has a long history in Camden, being the only locally-headquartered banking institution in the county. Small Jr.'s father, Sammy Small Sr., has led First Palmetto for decades, and will continue as chairman of the board and chief executive officer. As president, Small Jr. will oversee day-to-day operations of the more than 110-year-old company while continuing as chief operating officer and general counsel. Customers, shareholders and employees should know, based on board of directors' comments, First Palmetto is in good hands ...

Since February, four Kershaw County law enforcement officers have been arrested, accused of various offenses. They include one Kershaw County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) deputy, one Camden Police Department (CPD) officer and two Elgin Police Department (EPD) officers.

Monday, State Sen. Vincent Sheheen, of Camden, made what may go down in modern political history as one of the most important and one of the best speeches ever heard from the floor of the S.C. State Senate.

We offer our condolences to the family, friends and all of us who benefited from Sylvia Upton "Sibby" Wood's life. Wood, also known as "Sib," supported or was otherwise involved in so many things here in Kershaw County, they are almost too numerous to count. But count them we shall try as we mourn her death last week in Michigan at the age of 81.

Tomorrow is Independence Day, the Fourth of July, when this country celebrates its birthday. This year, July 4 marks the 239th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence -- the document which signaled to the world the original 13 British colonies were breaking away from Mother England.

During the last week, we have published two reports on KershawHealth. The first, growing out of the hospital's most recent board of trustees meeting, focused on its market share. It is relatively healthy, thanks to KershawHealth's being the only hospital in all of Kershaw County. More people living in the county turn to KershawHealth for emergency care than anywhere else. However, the report -- broadly speaking -- noted a decrease in market share in outpatient services and only slight increases for inpatient services.

Kudos to our various law enforcement agencies for working together to get some folks off our streets who needed to be stopped. At the top of our list are Bethune Police Chief Joey Cobb, Kershaw County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) and U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for arresting two people (and there may be more to come) for the June 23 armed robbery of Sandhills Bank in Bethune.

Nearly eight years ago, nine heroic Charleston firefighters lost their lives in a tragic accident fighting the Super Sofa store fire. Last week, nine wonderful Charlestonians' lives were snuffed out, this time in the Emanuel AME Church shooting. However, this time the tragedy was no accident.

The grief felt from the murder of nine innocent people at Charleston's historic Emanuel AME Church, one of the oldest African-American congregations in the nation, Wednesday night is encompassing many South Carolinians as we compassionately mourn the senseless loss of life taken while in the midst of a weekly prayer meeting.